Musical Theater PerformerOdds of Hanging On

Face it. What could be better than singing and dancing and emoting and acting in musical theater?

A steady paycheck, perhaps?

Many are called, few stick it out in the mad, mad world of musical theater. Performing is hard work. Boredom, tedium and repetition are enemies of dedication to the craft.

Maybe you’re sick of the endless auditions that have yielded nothing. That refrain from “A Chorus Line” goes round and round in your head on that 1,000th cattle call: “Who am I anyway?/Am I my resume?/That is a picture of a person I don’t know.”

Ouch.

Or maybe you’re a working performer, but in shows that flop after a minute. In revues that make a grand tour of eastern Washington state and western Idaho. And you live in Queens.

If you let the down side of performing get you down, maybe you should ratchet down your ambitions. Embrace that day job. Plunge into community theater. Or play to an audience of one: your dog.